loo A HUNTER'S WANDERINGS ch. 



At first sight, many of these cliffs appeared in- 

 accessible to any animal but a baboon ; but we found 

 that the elephants had made regular paths up and 

 down many of them, which paths zigzagged backwards 

 and forwards like a road down a Swiss mountain, and 

 in some places great blocks of stone had been forced 

 aside by the efforts of these bulky engineers, in order 

 to render their footing the more secure. 



That elephants can climb up and down very steep 

 places is, however, well known ; but it may be new 

 to some readers to hear that rhinoceroses are almost 

 equally active. I have seen many of the black and 

 one of the white species scramble with marvellous 

 activity and sureness of foot up and down the 

 most steep and stony hills that it is possible to 

 imagine. 



One evening, as W. and I were sitting on the 

 summit of one of these steep hills, our attention was 

 directed by the Kafirs to a grey shapeless mass lying 

 amongst some large blocks of stone, near the top of 

 a high ridge just opposite to us. Opinions differed 

 as to whether it was an old buffalo bull, a rhinoceros, 

 or a rock ; but, as we watched, the last idea was 

 quickly dispelled, for the hitherto motionless mass 

 raised itself slowly, and, gaining a standing position, 

 displayed to our view the well-known contour of a 

 black rhinoceros. Being out of meat, this was just 

 the thing we were looking for ; so we at once made 

 preparations to circumvent him. But, although the 

 wind was favourable, the hill-side was bare and stony, 

 and, despite our utmost pains to tread softly, he 

 heard us coming, and made off before we were well 

 within range. We both fired at once, W.'s six-to- 

 the-pound bullet catching the animal low down in 

 the fore-leg, and mine hitting him in the ribs, but 



